Written Answers Monday 31 October 2005

Scottish Executive

Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that, where guardianship has been granted to parents or to another responsible adult for an adult or child with learning difficulties, that the Scottish clearing banks are acting promptly and appropriately to open and service relevant accounts for guardians.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive and the Office of the Public Guardian have met with the Committee of Scottish Clearing Banks on a number of occasions to explore operational difficulties which arose after the commencement of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. These meetings have been productive and good progress has been, and continues to be, made in resolving issues. The banks share our determination to ensure that adults with incapacity are not disadvantaged in relation to proper management of their finances.

  Any matters of concern should be drawn to the attention of the banks and the Scottish Executive Justice Department.

Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from interested parties regarding the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive receives a range of correspondence from different sources from time to time on the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (the 2000 act).

  A valuable source of views on the operation of the legislation has been the two-year consultancy project funded by the Scottish Executive to monitor the implementation of the 2000 act - to which I referred to in my previous answer S2W-14714 on 7 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  The Scottish Executive is currently seeking comments on possible legislative changes to the 2000 act. The consultation Improving with Experience closes on 4 November 2005. The consultation document can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/08/23175953/59538.

Birds

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many licences for the control of cormorants have been issued since 1999.

Rhona Brankin: In the period from 1 January 1999 to date we have issued 110 licences to shoot cormorants as an aid to scaring for the purpose of protecting fisheries from serious damage.

Concordats

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what concordats there are between it and Her Majesty’s Government.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Memorandum of Understanding established four multilateral concordats between the UK Government, the Scottish Executive, the Cabinet of the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive Committee, covering:

  1. The Co-ordination of European Union Policy Issues.

  2. Financial Assistance to Industry.

  3. International Relations.

  4. Statistics.

  At present, there are twenty bi-lateral concordats between the Scottish Executive and individual UK Government departments, which are as follows:

  1. Cabinet Office (Bib. number 27311).

  2. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Bib. number 27310).

  3. Department for Education and Employment (Bib. number 27309).

  4. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Main Concordat) (Bib. number 22382).

  5. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Subject specific concordat on Fisheries) (Bib. number 8401).

  6. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Subject specific concordat on State Veterinary Services and Animal Disease Compensation) (Bib. number 15833).

  7. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (British Cattle Movement Service) (Bib. number 12503).

  8. General Registers Office (Bib. number 7534).

  9. Department of Trade and Industry (Bib. number 8415).

  10. HM Treasury and DTI (subject specific concordat on public procurement and related international obligations) (Bib. number 8416).

  11. Health and Safety Executive (Bib. number 8414).

  12. Department of Culture, Media and Sport (Bib. number 8413).

  13. Ministry of Defence (Bib. number 8233).

  14. European Structural Funds (Bib. number 8235).

  15. HM Treasury (Bib. number 8232).

  16. Department of Health (Bib. number 8236).

  17. Home Office (Bib. number 8230).

  18. Department of Work and Pensions (Bib. number 27312).

  19. Department for Transport (Bib. number 34278).

  20. Department for Constitutional Affairs (Bib. number 37866).

  All concordats between the Scottish Executive and UK Government are lodged with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre including any previous versions.

Crofting (Scotland) Act 1993

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under the Crofting (Scotland) Act 1993, a landowner of a crofting estate has to seek consent from the Crofters Commission on any deal with private developers, whether the deal be made directly or through an interposed lease.

Rhona Brankin: We are not aware of any provision of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 which could be interpreted as requiring a landowner to obtain Crofters Commission consent to a deal with private developers.

Environment

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Minister for Environment and Rural Development’s recent announcement that the greenhouse gas inventory for Scotland has shown a steady decline in emissions, to what extent this has been achieved through a reduction in manufacturing and engineering capacity in line with the changed basis of GDP calculation in Scotland.

Ross Finnie: Sectoral emissions trends are reported in Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 1990-2003  (Bib. number 37621). Manufacturing and engineering is not a sector defined in the inventory, and it is therefore not possible to comment on emissions associated with these industries.

  However, combustion related emissions from Manufacturing Industry and Construction (IPCC Sector 1A2) are reported, and over the period 1990-2003 carbon dioxide emissions from this sector declined by 46%. The explanation offered in the inventory indicates that this is "mainly due to the closure of the Ravenscraig Steel Plant."

Equal Pay Act 1970

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is to each local authority of complying with the equal pay provisions in the Equal Pay Act 1970.

Mr Tom McCabe: This information is not held centrally. The pay and conditions of local government staff are matters for local authorities who have an obligation, like other employers, to ensure that they comply with all employment legislation.

Local Government Finance

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is to each local authority of implementing the single status agreement between COSLA and the trade unions, agreed in 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: This information is not held centrally. The pay and conditions of local government staff are matters for local authorities. Although the Scottish Executive provides funding for salaries and wages as part of the block grant provided to local authorities, it is the responsibility of each authority as to how this money is allocated. The Executive was not involved in the negotiations between COSLA and the trade unions which resulted in Single Status Pay Agreement in 1999. In implementing the agreement, the Executive has made clear its view that local authorities should strike a balance between what is fair and equitable not just for the staff concerned but also for council tax payers.

National Trust for Scotland

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of newspaper reports that the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has awarded a contract valued at £50,000 to a New Zealand company to eliminate rats on the island of Canna, whether any other company was invited to tender for this work and, if so, how many applications were received; what conditions are placed on the NTS in respect of its procurement policies and whether these are a condition of the public funding it receives; if not, whether the Executive will consider introducing such conditions, and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Rhona Brankin: The Canna Seabird Recovery EC LIFE-Nature Project receives no direct financial contribution from the Scottish Executive. The major proportion of funds will come from the European Commission, with some co-financing from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). SNH is funded by Scottish ministers to protect and enhance Scotland’s natural heritage. It has discretion to commit expenditure and to make grants subject to procedures set out in its management statement and financial memorandum which ensure proper accountability for the expenditure of public money.

  I understand that the NTS contract to eradicate rats on Canna and Sanday was put out to public tender.

Planning

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many affordable homes are currently indicated in each local authority’s structure or development plan, in accordance with paragraph 28 of Planning Advice Note 74: Affordable Housing .

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive does not hold this information centrally. In line with policy in SPP 3: Planning for Housing, structure plans are expected to set out the long term housing land requirement for the area. PAN 74: Affordable Housing (March 2005) sets out more detailed guidance on the role of the planning system in supporting the delivery of new affordable housing.

  Local plans across Scotland are at different stages and their preparation is in the control of local authorities. However, the Scottish Executive intends to monitor the impact of PAN 74 over time and will collect relevant data.

Planning

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to paragraph 29 of Planning Advice Note 74: Affordable Housing , whether all local development plans have allocated sufficient land to meet the requirement identified in the structure plan including affordable housing.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive does not hold this information centrally. PAN 74 was published in March 2005 and planning authorities are expected to have regard to the advice it contains when reviewing development plans.

  Local plans across Scotland are at different stages and their preparation is in the control of local authorities. However, the Scottish Executive intends to monitor the impact of PAN 74 over time and will collect relevant data.

Public Sector Staff

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the public sector employment statistics from 1997 to 1999 on a basis consistent with those published for the first two quarters of 2005.

Mr Tom McCabe: There are currently no plans to publish public sector employment statistics in Scotland from 1997 to 1999 on a consistent basis with those published for the first two quarters of 2005.

Renewable Energy

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what fees are payable to a local authority for a planning application for a wind turbine development of under 50 megawatts and how such fees are related to the cost of processing the application.

Johann Lamont: Fees for planning applications were introduced in 1981, so that potential beneficiaries of a planning permission could contribute to the processing costs incurred by local authorities. It is government policy to achieve full recovery of authorities’ costs in providing this service. The fees regime is kept as simple as possible, being based on broad categories of types of development.

  It would appear that the fee required for the processing of a planning application for a wind turbine development might fall within the category "erection, alteration or replacement of plant or machinery". This category presently incurs a fee of £260 for each 0.1 hectare of the site area, subject to a maximum of £13,000. The interpretation of the appropriate category and level of fee is, however, a matter for the relevant planning authority.

Renewable Energy

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been to it of applications for wind turbine developments referred under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

Allan Wilson: No separate figures are kept for the cost of processing applications for consent for wind farms, but since the beginning of financial year 2002-03 the cost to the Energy and Telecommunications Division of dealing with all Electricity Act applications for consent has been £834,000. This includes an estimated spend of £260,888 in the current financial year.

  These sums do not include costs to other parts of the Executive whose advice is required in the decision making process.

Sport

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18018 by Patricia Ferguson on 16 August 2005, what match funds have been provided or committed from corporate and other sources to the Commonwealth Games (Scotland) Endowment Fund.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18018 by Patricia Ferguson on 16 August 2005, whether it will provide details of the activities of the Commonwealth Games (Scotland) Endowment Fund to date.

Patricia Ferguson: No donations have been made to the fund itself but the trustees have been successful in securing support, in cash and in kind, for the work of the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland (CGCS). The trustees have set up a business group which advises and assists the CGCS in its fundraising activities and members of the group have themselves provided support for the CGCS’s activities.

  If the member wishes more detailed information about the activities of the trust, I suggest that she writes direct to the chairman of the trust, Mr Dougie Donnelly.